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Sunday, March 18, 2018

UK: Soccer executive apologizes for equating Star of David with swastika

The CEO of English soccer's governing body apologized Monday for equating the Star of David with the swastika while listing political and religious symbols that the organization would like to keep out of the game.

Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn mentioned the two symbols as part of a conversation over the weekend related to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who was reprimanded last month for wearing a yellow ribbon to support imprisoned politicians in Catalonia.

Glenn said Guardiola's yellow ribbon is a political symbol, unlike the English poppy, which British players and managers have worn to commemorate fallen soldiers.

"We have re-written Law 4 of the game so that things like a poppy are OK," Glenn told reporters. "But things that are going to be highly divisive, and that could be strong religious symbols, it could be the Star of David, it could be the hammer and sickle, it could be a swastika, anything like (former Zimbabwe president) Robert Mugabe on your shirt, these are the things we don’t want."